Nuskhat al-Sari ibn Sahl
- Author died
- 346 AH
- Editions
- Nuskhat al-Sari ibn Sahl
Nuskhat al-Sari ibn Sahl (Arabic: نسخة السري بن سهل, lit. 'The Codex of al-Sari ibn Sahl') is a hadith booklet (nuskha) compiled from the transmissions of the traditionist al-Sari ibn Sahl al-Jundisaburi (d. 289 AH / 902 CE). The work comprises a collection of prophetic traditions received through the single transmission strand of ‘Abd Allah ibn Rashid al-Jundisaburi on the authority of Abu ‘Ubaydah Mujja‘ah ibn al-Zubayr al-‘Ataki.
Transmission and Content
The core text of the nuskha consists of prophetic reports transmitted by Abu Sahl al-Sari ibn Sahl ibn Kharban al-Jundisaburi al-Kharbani, who received the traditions of Mujja‘ah ibn al-Zubayr through ‘Abd Allah ibn Rashid al-Jundisaburi. The material was transmitted from al-Sari by a group of hadith scholars, including ‘Abd al-Baqi ibn Qani‘, Abu al-Husayn ‘Abd al-Samad ibn ‘Ali ibn Makram al-Tasti, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Ubulli Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Isma‘il, and al-Tabarani.
Narrations from this codex were incorporated into broader compilations, including al-Daraqutni's al-Sunan, al-Tabarani's al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir and al-Mu‘jam al-Saghir, and Abu Nu‘aym al-Isfahani's Hilyat al-awliya'. Among the well-known reports transmitted in this compilation is the hadith of ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas‘ud on shame before God: اسْتَحْيُوا مِنَ اللَّهِ حَقَّ الْحَيَاءِ ("Feel shame before God as is truly His due").
Scholarly Assessment
The isnad of the work has been subject to scrutiny by classical critics of hadith:
- Al-Bayhaqi expressed reservations regarding narrations transmitted via this route, remarking that neither al-Sari ibn Sahl nor his teacher ‘Abd Allah ibn Rashid is to be relied upon as a proof.
- Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani conjectured that al-Sari ibn Sahl might be the same person as the heavily discredited transmitter al-Sari ibn ‘Asim (d. 258 AH); however, biographical scholars such as Ibn Makula and al-Dhahabi distinguish him as al-Sari ibn Sahl al-Jundisaburi, who died in Fars in 289 AH.
- Regarding al-Sari's direct authority in the codex, ‘Abd Allah ibn Rashid, Ibn Hibban deemed him upright in hadith (mustaqim al-hadith), and Abu ‘Awanah al-Isfarayini described him as trustworthy (thiqah).
Modern Edition
The traditions of the codex were edited by ‘Amir Hasan Sabri within a collection of three hadith monographs under the title Hadith Abi ‘Ubaydah Mujja‘ah ibn al-Zubayr al-‘Ataki al-Basri, published in a single volume by Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyyah in Beirut (1423 AH / 2003 CE). The publication arranges the material into three sections: the recension of Ibn Qani‘ from al-Sari, the recension of Abu al-Husayn ‘Abd al-Samad al-Tasti from al-Sari, and the additional narrations of Nuskhat al-Sari from Mujja‘ah not preserved in the first two transmissions.
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